


Rain or Sun, We'll Stand Together

by Aurealis



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Phone Calls & Telephones, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-04 22:08:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15156641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurealis/pseuds/Aurealis
Summary: In Gym class Peter forgets to control his powers and faces consequences. First instinct: call his mentor.





	Rain or Sun, We'll Stand Together

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a funny ficlet about Peter's P.E. class because I always wondered what would happen if he showed off his amazing gymnastics skills but then this turned into a story about bullying.

Peter paced in his room, staring at his phone every couple of seconds. He did not know what to do. It was sort of ironic since training also covered psychological stuff, Mr Stark had been adamant about it.

“I need not a fifteen year old psychiatric ward patient in my hands,” The man had snapped when Peter had asked the reason for the mental practices and psychological tests to determine his mental strengths and weaknesses. The boy still did not see the reason for Rorschach tests, how was he supposed to see anything but butterflies in those blobs, but others such as outlets for stress he could get behind. Yoga was actually challenging and breath exercises accompanied with mental images were useful to combat anxiety attacks.

Now he had reached a situation Mr Stark had not predicted or if he had, they had not yet reached that lesson. There was no protocol for this and honestly, Peter was without answers. He had been a superhero for merely a year, and it was only after meeting Tony that he had truly started to understand his powers. 

Before he could chicken out, his mind went on automatic mode and his fingers clicked on the call button. 

He counted and listened to the dialing tone. Ten seconds later his ear was assaulted with the chorus of Highway to Hell.

“Hey kid, what’s new?” Mr Stark’s voice was loud over the music, he was obviously in his work shop. Peter had been there enough times that the lyrics to about half of AC/DC songs were carved into his memory and would probably reside there till his last breath.

How the boy wished he could be there instead of his stuffy room, singing along while attempting to work on his suit and designing improvements to various gadgets. He had so much homework that there was no way to fit a trip across the city into his time table. 

So, Peter took in a deep breath.

“I might be in trouble.”

The background noise quieted and the man’s voice came closer, obviously he had picked up the phone instead of answering through FRIDAY.

“What is it, are you injured?” It was the standard first question and said in the same tone as always: hurried and concerned.

The boy shook his head.

“No, it’s- you’re going to be mad.”

“Maybe,” the man said at length and the boy’s bracelet blinked. It was a pre-birthday present from Tony, the man was in the habit of those. Pre-Christmas presents started coming in October. The bracelet was designed to give out his vitals, locations and it came with a panic button. 

“Your pulse is slightly elevated,” Tony frowned, debating whether he needed to suit up.

“I may be a bit nervous,” The boy bit his thumbnail and tried to voice his concern. “So- we had gym today.”

A pause.

“Alright.”

“Gymnastics.”

A beat of silence and then.

“Kid, don’t tell me-“

“I just snapped, okay!” Peter screamed in frustration and Mr Stark groaned. “Flash had been bothering me all day and- I’ve never managed to do a cartwheel or anything like that but now I can manage anything- you just name it! And it was all so simple, it’s nowadays my warmup routine. And my mind must have been elsewhere because the next thing I know I had completed a perfect cartwheel with no hands and a flip on top of that.”

“Jesus Christ kid, couldn’t you have done the entire routine?” Tony rubbed a hand to his face. “Maybe Double Layout or Triple Twist?”

Peter thought back to their training session two days ago. With Youtube as their guide, Tony had supervised while he practiced the hardest Gymnastic tricks they could come across. It was good for stamina and agility and a real test for his skills.

“I’m sorry, Mr Stark,” the boy whispered. “I don’t know what came over me.”

The man breathed deeply in for a few seconds and then sobered up.

“It’s not the end of the world, bud,” Peter had to give the man credit for his amazing self-control. “I know it seems bad but with some non-disclosure paperwork, we can manage that-“

“Actually, I already said that I learnt the tricks in the internship. With the Avengers.”

Tony blinked: “Alright,” he said at length, tasting the word. “It seems reasonable. I have told you before that you don’t need to hide your powers entirely. You may do simple stuff such as cartwheels with hands. Did the story check out?”

“Yes, but here is another problem.”

Tony’s left hand started to shake: who knew teenagers came with such stress and Peter wasn’t even his!

“Kid, you’re killing me.”

Peter took in a quick breath: here goes nothing.

“Coach Wilson wants me to join the cheerleading team.”

Tony half-laughed, half-shrieked: “What?”

“That was my initial reaction.”

The man was speechless for a second and Peter counted it a victory.

“I did not even know that school had cheerleaders?”

“We have and also sports teams but they are not so prevalent. Since our school is so heavily focused on science, jocks are not the so called kings.”

The man nodded: it made perfect sense. FRIDAY needed update his files on Peter’s academic residence: the initial research had apparently been way too scarce.

“Do cheerleading teams even include men?” Tony had only seen cheerleading squads at games and they had been all female. 

Peter’s sigh was the perfect embodiment of ‘get with the times, old man’.

“Yes,” the tone was impatient. “Our team consists of two men and eight women.”

“Make that three men,” Tony reminded. Peter sat on his bed and sighed, the sound seeming to embody years of pent up frustrations. There was something there and his mentor waited patiently. Peter was easy to read even when you could not see his face.

“Everyone was awestruck,” Peter said quietly, like he was recalling a day that had passed decades ago. “Ned was also terrified. Coach said that if I have learnt that without years of prior training, I must be a natural and with right regime I could go places.”

“Kid…”

“Everyone applauded and people who I never talk to -they are higher on the food chain than me- the praised me, Mr Stark and struck up conversation. It was-“

“Like you were not invisible anymore,” Tony ended with a sad smile. Peter said nothing but the sniff told more than he needed.

“Peter,” The man leaned on the desk, imagining he could get closer to his protégé to make the following words sink. “If you just say the word-“

“No!”

“It’s not right you suffer through bullying every day!”

They had had the same conversation at least once a month but Peter was stubborn. May or school could not know how bad the situation really was. Tony knew only because the boy was a shit liar and Karen told which bruises came from patrolling.

“It would end, kid,” Tony had failed numerous times to make the boy understand the situation he was in. It was hazardous to his mental health. Peter was such a good boy, he deserved the best and right now, he was on the verge of falling from the right path. 

“You could go to school in peace and just focus on tests and SATs and college. Hell, you could change schools! Go to a new place and start all over again. I could get you anywhere, just name the place!”

Peter opened his mouth and it was the same argument as last week.

“I can’t leave because they will just pick another target. And if I tell it will only get worse, now it’s only name calling and some shoves.”

“It is violence, Peter!” Tony growled. He had to fight the urge to take Iron Man suit and rain down justice on the punks. “You’re Spiderman, you should know different forms!”

“Exactly,” Peter said it like a math teacher who finally got his students to understand the problem. “I know how bad it could be! Plus I have super healing on my side!”

“If you let this go on, it will never stop!” The man was desperate to get through to that thick skull and incept some wisdom, gained through life experience. He had seen three   
times more years than Peter. Why could not the stubborn, damned kid realize he was only trying to stop Peter from making the same mistakes that had nearly cost him his sanity?

“Peter, I know what I am talking about. I had- still have the same martyr complex. I thought that I was doing the right thing by silently suffering but it kills you inside. It twists you   
and reprograms your brain until you don’t remember how you were in the beginning.”

Peter slumped on his bed and bounced a bit on the mattress. He listened to the words and thought them over. Mr Stark did not understand- they were from completely different worlds. What the man had gone through could not compare to public school, not even one as prestigious as Midtown High.

“It pains me to be a silent witness,” Tony let out a humorless laugh, very similar to one Aunt May gives when Peter won’t let her in to his little world. “I feel like part of the problem.”

“You are not, Mr Stark,” Peter shook his head; he could not believe how lucky he was to have someone so amazing in his corner. Sure the man helped Spiderman, that was without question but there was no requirement to look after Peter Parker too. But Mr Stark had surprised him with his attentiveness, how he made sure Peter excelled at school, was healthy and happy. ‘There is nothing you can do that I haven’t dealt with’ the man had told him once. ‘So whatever happens and you need someone, give a call, no questions asked.’

”You help.”

Tony shook his head.

“I don’t help enough and I don’t know what to do,” The man ran a hand through his hair, he needed a shower. “If I were a responsible adult, I would go to your principal and demand some action but you confided to me and I don’t want to break your trust.”

Peter let out a breath he had been holding. He could count on Mr Stark to have his back. Nowadays the list of people he could count on was very limited and having another adult on his side was more than he could ask for.

“Thank you,” the words had so much weight Tony had to smile. If he had his way, Peter would be out of Midtown and in the most prestigious STEM High School in New York. He had gone through the options numerous times during his bouts of insomnia: Horace Mann School seemed like a reasonable alternative.

“So,” Peter rolled on his stomach, the annoying knot there was gone and relaxation filled his muscles. “My first practice is tomorrow. Is it alright if I come over after that?”

Tony leaned back in his chair and set his feet on the table. Peter the cheerleader; somehow those words matched.

“When is the first game?”

If he could not get Peter out of Midtown, he could stand by his kid through the bad, the good and the unexpected.


End file.
